10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2017

Located in Thessaly province in central Greece, what is now left of the lake where the god Apollo was married and where the Argonauts built their kingdom is officially called the reservoirs of the former Lake Karla. Spring (migrants and breeding species) and winter (wintering waterbirds). Have you ever been at a former lake?

Greece 210

Greece Killing Pelicans Eagles 210

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2024

Take a quick look at the breeding distribution of European birds and you will see that there are a surprising number of species that are restricted to the Balkans. It is these Balkan specials that are the target species… Source

Herzegovina 237

Herzegovina Albania Bosnia Macedonia 237

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2024

True, most of our migrant breeding birds start to return in April, but in May even the late arrivals – Turtle Doves, Swifts, Spotted Flycatchers and Nightjars – finally appear. Since my first visit to this corner of Greece in 2008 I’ve been a regular visitor, drawn back by the abundance and variety of birds.

Greece 243

Greece Turtles Breeding Europe 243

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2024

That trip was fun, as it reminded me of the delights of watching birds like Golden Plover and even Meadow Pipit on their breeding grounds. I see lots of Golden Plovers in the winter, but (like so many waders) they are birds transformed when in their breeding finery. Crakes are difficult to see on their breeding grounds.

Cyprus 240

Cyprus Greece Spain Europe 240

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2024

It’s a reservoir, not a natural lake, and was formed by damming the Striminos river, which flows into Greece from neighboring Bulgaria (unfortunately bringing with it huge amounts of plastic rubbish, creating problems for the National Park.) This indicates peak breeding condition, but by May their pouches are back to pale yellow again.

Pelicans 229

Pelicans Greece Fish Bulgaria 229

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

Like many of you, I had plans for this year’s spring migration: to bird the very best tour of the Balkans, heading for northeastern Greece. First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38.

Greece 273

Greece Bulgaria Serbia 2000 273

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

I also travelled to Kerkini in Northern Greece in June and Kefalonia in south-east Greece in October, so my overall year list was a more satisfactory 272 species. These birds (usually juveniles) are clearly linked to the growing breeding population in the region. My overseas trips did boost the overall year list considerably.

Estonia 245

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

We are in the village of Finikas on the island of Syros in the Cyclades archipelago of Greece. This shearwater is a Mediterranean endemic, breeding from Sardinia and Corsica to the Adriatic and the Aegean. Tha dropping numbers are suspected in Greece and Croatia, and confirmed in Italy, France and Malta. Practicalities.

Greece 251

Greece Malta Croatia Italy 251

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Have you read my blogs on birding Greece ? Presuming that you live somewhere in Europe and plan a car trip to Greece, let me suggest a couple of routes that will increase your tour list. For the Ionian Sea, take the motorway exit for the town of Prilep, continue through Bitola and head for the Medzitlija – Niki crossing to Greece.

Greece 182

Greece Albania Macedonia Europe 182

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

An afternoon is already growing old while I am driving downhill to the Livadi marsh at the island of Kefallonia, Greece. Two-thirds of the world’s population breeds colonially on Greek islands. Trips falcons Greece' Finally, one Lesser Whitethroat in a bush by the road… and a sunset turns into darkness.

Falcons 201

Falcons Greece Madagascar Game 201

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

I first visited Kerkini and this bird-rich region of northern Greece 15 years ago, and have been returning regularly ever since. A feature of the autumn is the abundance of Great White Egrets – up to 200 on the lake – but as far as I know they have yet to breed here.

Greece 241

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Geese 241

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

Perhaps the most curious thing about the Great Spotted Cuckoo is its distribution, for it is both a non-breeding Palearctic migrant to Africa, and a trans-Africa migrant. According to The Birds of Africa Volume III , “In much of the tropics present throughout the year, with breeding and non-breeding birds usually indistinguishable”.

Cyprus 243

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 243

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

And here I am now, avoiding the two barking dogs trying to bite my tires while I am driving through pre-dawn darkness towards the delta of the river Styx, or Acheron, as it is known today at the Ionian Sea coast of Greece. Trips Greece wetlands' On a wire by the road, one European Bee-eater awaits me. Circaetus gallicus.

Greece 219

Greece Serbia Hunters Cows 219

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2020

Out of my total of 15 observations ever, this is only the third within Serbia (the rest were half in India, the other half in Greece). published in the US as “Birds of Europe”), shows only a male in breeding plumage. This is an uncommon species here – only about a dozen birds overwinter in the country annually.

Serbia 296

Serbia Birds Cyprus Ducks 296

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2011

I had written then that… There are rumors of a plan to capture Griffon Vultures breeding in Greece and release them here in Cyprus, to rescue the population. A census conducted on March 31 indicated that there are in fact only only 6-8 Griffon Vultures left in Cyprus. But there is cause for hope on the horizon.

Cyprus 201

Cyprus Greece Rescue Breeding 201

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

In short, the accepted view used to be that a small breeding population of Egyptian Vultures inhabited Southern Africa, but has vanished facing the spread of towns, roads and farms. In the 1970s we had two to four breeding pairs, in the 1980s one to two, in the 1990s it was zero to two (irregular breeding).

Sudan 249

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 249

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. Greece (346 / 411 – just to give you a clue, the Greek-published checklist I have has 449 species). It makes me think what is the meaning of life, the universe and everything? Why am I here?

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

While tracking brown bears in Greece some time ago, B. stayed to rrroar to the locals, also visit their homesteads, to see which races of domestic animals they breed, etc. Pat asked me where was I at the moment and I said “We’re just passing the sign for (I think) Salida”, when laughing in the van stopped me: that was a sign for exit.

San Jose 166

San Jose Bears Greece Costa Rica 166

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2019

The year 2018 started with the rare Lesser White-fronted Goose , closely followed by Red-breasted Goose , Red-crested Pochard and Greater Flamingo , all at the incredible Lake Kerkini National Park in northern Greece: “Seeing a parked 4×4 and a national park biologist Kostas Papadopoulos scoping the flats… What is he looking at?

2018 122

2018 Serbia Greece Falcons 122

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

The coast of the Mediterranean Sea is used mostly as a wintering ground, with just a handful of breeding colonies between Greece, northern Italy and eastern Spain (and recently through central Europe all the way to Ireland). So there you have it: conservative taxonomy leads to unfortunate common names.

Europe 146

Europe Spain Italy Ireland 146

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2024

They are late migrants here, as the best time to see them is in late May or early June, while there’s a distinct southerly and easterly bias to the counties where they have been seen.

Greece 130

Greece Investigation 2014 Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

Migrants will be around but their hormone driven urges to get back to the breeding grounds for procreation make them less than reliable on count day. This year’s recipient was the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS) in Greece. This was why the count organizers stressed the importance of focusing on common birds.

Israel 189

Israel Costa Rica Eagles Raised 189

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2024

The next couple of months will of course see a boost to my British list, as summer migrants flood into England, while forthcoming trips to Cyprus, Greece and northern Spain will also turbocharge the European list. Wader watching in spring is always exciting, as so many of these birds are transformed when they acquire their breeding finery.

Spain 130

Spain Eagles North America Cyprus 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2020

And as the windblown birds settled down for the summer breeding season and the wind subsided, I found any concern for which way it was blowing died down with it. Of course, there may very well have been fowl-inspired weathervanes in ancient Greece and Rome. But none came.

New York 162

New York Belgium Farming Fowl 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

I dipped it once before and only this autumn found them in Greece. The decrease in numbers has been accompanied by fragmentation of the breeding range and is continuing to affect all populations. The decrease in numbers has been accompanied by fragmentation of the breeding range and is continuing to affect all populations.

Montenegro 203

Montenegro Serbia Greece Bulgaria 203

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2024

Only four species breed in Britain – the Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting and Cirl Bunting, but there are rather more in Europe, of which my favourite is the Black-headed Bunting. This is a Balkan special, and a bird I know well from Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus. A Cirl Bunting in winter.

Bulgaria 220

Bulgaria Greece Breeders India 220

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills goes on to give greater detail of the former nesting sites in Europe: it could once be found “in southern Germany and Austria, in the valleys of the upper Rhine and Danube Rivers, and in the Alps of Switzerland, Italy and Germany, and perhaps in Hungary and Greece”.

Morocco 245

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

In Europe, Lesser Kestrels are birds of the Mediterranean zone, nesting mainly in Spain and Portugal, southern France, Sardinia, the Balkans and parts of Greece. On their breeding grounds in Spain, Lesser Kestrels are very much city birds, for 95% of the population nests in towns. Perhaps some females remain, too, but I didn’t see any.

Falcons 233

Falcons Spain Europe Portugal 233

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2024

Explaining the increase in the number of sightings is difficult, as the Siberian breeding population is declining. This current winter is no exception, and at the time of writing there are no fewer than five to be seen at four different locations. With luck I might well see the Cley bird again before it heads back to Siberia.

Bulgaria 130

Bulgaria Geese Romania Estonia 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2023

As the Wryneck is a lost breeding bird in Britain it’s also a bird of special interest to us Brits and one I never tire of photographing. It was a pleasing shot: the exposure was spot on, the bird not too big in the image, while the out-of-focus background and blossom on the apple tree complemented the subject.

Cyprus 246

Cyprus Portugal Birds Estonia 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2022

In the Natural history chapter, Briggs says: “Sri Lanka is one of Asia’s most rewarding birdwatching destinations. Many lesser guidebooks would attempt to offer something like the above text, but without first-hand knowledge or true understanding and based upon local brochures, often written by some tourist board bureaucrat and deeply flawed.

Sri Lanka 147

Sri Lanka Ghana Uganda Protest 147